Hydraulic-forced resonance-free vibratory sheet piling driving and extraction machine

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for continuously preloading during installation and removal of steel sheet piles, steel pilings, and casing piles, comprising a telescoping, articulated boom having a free end for creating the downward driving force, a weighted base to provide support and stability for the boom, a connector at the free end of said boom to engage the piling, a modified resonance-free vibratory hammer, and a means for simultaneously vibrating the piling while applying to the piling the continuous downward or upward force.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/025,621, filed Dec. 28, 2004, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a machine and method for driving sheet pilingthat uses an articulated boom for vertical, upward or downward force anda resonance-free vibratory hammer to rapidly install or remove sheetpiles using continuous force.

2. Description of Related Art

Sheet piles are elongated, often corrugated, vertical metallic membersdriven into sand or other loose earth to act as sea walls or to holdback earthen embankments. Machines for driving vertical members, andparticularly sheet piles, into the ground are well known in the priorart. U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,698, issued Jan. 20, 1978 to Nakagawasai, usesa base body to exert a pull-down force so that an earth auger applies adownward propelling force to an auger screw which is a member to bedriven into the ground. The base body is brought down vertically by achain to which it is mounted. The endless chain is connected aroundupper and lower sprockets of a leader that is driven. The base bodycomprises a rotary power portion having an output shaft to which theauger screw is connected and that is moved downward by the endlesschain. A pile-holding portion at the lower part of said rotary powerportion holds the pile as it is driven into the ground adjacent to thehole created by the auger screw. This invention does not incorporate anymeans of vibration to enhance the efficacy of its pile-driving ability.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,482, issued Jun. 17, 1975 to Frederick, describes ajet sheet and circular pile with water hammer assist wherein a supply oflubricant or preferably water is furnished to the sides of a section ofpiling to facilitate the driving of the piling into the ground throughearthen strata. The use of water also creates a water hammer effect thatacts synergistically with the vibratory driver by generating a shockwave with a pressure of 3,000 psi in approximately 1/400 of a second sothat the pile is driven more easily into the ground. This inventionrelies on the water hammer effect and vibration to drive pilings intothe ground.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,764, issued Dec. 1, 1987 to Gibbons, theinvention relates to a sheet pile supported driver wherein a sheet piledriver rides along a single wall of sheet piles already driven into theground so that the pile driver moves progressively forward as it drivessubsequent sheet piles into the ground. Sheet pile driving is slow andcumbersome using this invention due to the roller and track assemblyused to move it on top of the wall of sheet piles.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,156, issued Jun. 13, 1978 to Dumont, describes amethod and apparatus for driving sheet piles into the ground in which ahole-drilling mechanism works beside the driving mechanism to create acavity adjacent to the sheet pile as it is being driven into the groundso that earth that is displaced by the driven sheet pile can be receivedby said adjacent cavity thereby facilitating driving of the sheet pile.In this invention, the sheet piles are engaged with a framework uponwhich hydraulic pressing devices press downward, thereby driving thesheet piles into the ground.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,630, issued Dec. 10, 1985 to Neil, describes avibratory clamping device for use with an excavator in supporting andplacing sheet pilings when excavating in sand, running sand, and silt.This device provides a means for obviating damage caused to sheet pileswhile they are hammered into ground with water present therein, but doesnot include a means for driving the sheet piles into the ground. Theinvention described in this particular patent is connected to themounting for an excavator bucket.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,583, issued Aug. 12, 2003 to Van Randen, describes adevice and method for driving an object, including sheet piles, into theground using vibration. U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,811, issued Dec. 2, 1986 toTuenkers, relates to a hydraulic vibratory pile driver, in whichhydraulic motors are connected to and rotate shafts and weights therebycreating vibration that, along with the weight of the driver, causes thepile to sink into the ground. Both of these patents use vibration astheir sole means for driving piles into the ground.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A machine and method for driving an elongated sheet piling that allowsfor automatic continuous force for preloading or extraction of the sheetpiling during installation and removal.

The machine includes a large weighted base carrier that rests on theearth that includes a vertically supported boom that can be articulatedusing hydraulic force for creating vertical, upward or downward forcesfrom the base carrier through the boom.

A resonance-free vibratory hammer, which operates in a frequency muchgreater than the resonant frequency of the earth into which the sheetpiling is being driven, is attached at the free end of the boom. Anarticulated swivel connector at the free end of the boom connects theboom to the modified upper portion of the resonance-free vibratoryhammer which itself is connected directly to the sheet piling.

The boom itself, which is attached at one end to the large weighted basecarrier, provides elongated bidirectional, hydraulically-powered forcethrough an internal, hydraulic, double-acting cylinder. The internalhydraulic cylinder can be variable-controlled under load for vertical,upward or downward force that acts on the resonance-free vibratoryhammer, which is hinged and can move freely while connected to the boom.The resonance-free vibratory hammer can be, for example, one of the PVEBV line of VM vibratory hammers such as Model No. PVE23VMA. The boom canbe operated at an angle from the base carrier ranging from 0 to 96degrees.

Using the telescopic boom, sheet pilings of extreme length can be driveninto the earth applying a continuous downward force from the boom on thesheet piling while using the resonance-free vibratory hammer to vibratesaid sheet piling. Likewise, an upward force can be applied forretrieving or removing sheet piling from the ground forcefully.

While providing the force, either upward or downward, from the boom andsimultaneously vibrating the sheet piling to drive the sheet piling intothe soil or forcefully extracting the sheet piling from the ground, thepresent invention can greatly expedite installing or removing extremelengths of sheet piling without creating resonance that may disturb ordestroy other existing structures adjacent to the sheet pilingoperation.

The method of vibrating the driven sheet pile at the same time thatcontinuous downward force is applied to said sheet pile facilitatesinstalling the sheet pile. Because the machine and method permitscontinuous preloading of sheet piles, the efficiency of the sheet piledriving process is increased.

The sheet piling driver includes the large weighted base carrier restingon the ground that vertically anchors the boom for counterbalancing alarge downward (or upward) hydraulically-harnessed force from thecarrier through said boom to the sheet piling. The resonance-freevibratory hammer which operates well above 12 Hz ground resonance, suchas, for example the PVE BV line of VM vibratory hammers, is connected byan articulated connector at the free end of the boom for connecting saidboom to the sheet piling. Once the resonance-free vibratory hammer isconnected to the sheet piling that is to be installed, a continuousdownward (or upward) force from the boom is applied onto the sheetpiling which is aligned perfectly for plumb insertion into the earth. Atthe same time, the sheet piling is vibrated to help drive it into thesoil. Using the method of the present invention, the boom isautomatically controlled during elongation and contraction of the boomso that the sheet piling is always plumb in three-dimensional planeswith the earth. The special connector to the vibratory hammer iscomprised of a swivel and a special universal joint that attaches to thefree end of the boom. The sheet piling being installed is connecteddirectly at one end to the vibratory hammer.

An object of this invention is to increase the efficiency and speed withwhich sheet piles can be installed.

Another object of this invention is to increase the downward and upwardforces with which the sheet piles are driven into the ground, whileusing a resonance-free vibratory hammer.

Still another object of this invention is to expedite installing orremoving extreme lengths of sheet piling without creating resonance thatmay disturb or destroy other existing structures adjacent to the sheetpiling operation.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparenthereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particularreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a side elevational view of the invention with the boom ina retracted operational position without a sheet piling.

FIG. 1B shows a side elevational view of the invention with the boomcollapsed and the counterweight in lowered position.

FIG. 1C shows a front elevational view of the weighted base carrier onlywith its tracks in extended configuration.

FIG. 1D shows a front elevational view of the weighted base carrier onlywith its tracks in retracted configuration.

FIG. 1E shows a side elevational view of the invention with the boomextended vertically.

FIG. 1F shows a side elevational view of the invention with the boomfully extended horizontally.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the universal joint of the connector thatconnects the boom to the resonance-free vibratory hammer.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the universal joint of the connector shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the resonance-free vibratory hammer andswivel of the connector used with the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the vibratory hammer and swivel that areillustrated in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to a sheet pile driving machine 10 exerting astrong downward or upward force to install and remove sheet piles 12using both a vibratory hammer 14 and a plurality of hydraulicdouble-acting cylinders 16. As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the machine 10comprises an articulated boom 18, a large weighted base carrier 20, aconnector 22 interconnected with a free hinged end 24 of said boom, anda vibratory hammer 14 for vibrating the piling 12 simultaneously withthe creation of continuous downward or upward force.

The weighted base carrier 20 vertically supports the boom 18 forcounterbalancing a large downward or upward, hydraulically-harnessedforce from the base carrier 20 through said boom 18 to said sheet piling12. The standard modified base carrier 20 is a multipurpose carrier,similar to a hydraulic excavator, which rests on the ground. Saidstandard base carrier 20 includes a counterweight portion 26 that can belowered when the boom 18 is collapsed as shown in FIG. 1B and a mobilemultipurpose carrier portion 28 to which the boom 18 is connected. Asshown in FIGS. 1C and 1D, a left track and a right track 30 that arecapable of backward and forward movement of the multipurpose carrierportion 28 of the base carrier 20 can be retracted or extended toprovide additional stability to the machine 10 when it is in operation.The base carrier 20 includes a separate power pack 32 for supplyingpower to a plurality of hydraulic pumps 34 that operate the hydrauliccylinders 16 of the pile driving machine 10. Due to the amount of forceapplied downward to the sheet piling 12, the base carrier 20 must be ofsufficient weight to prevent the boom 18 and pile driving machine 10from tipping over. In this manner, the entire base carrier 20 of themachine 10 provides a counterweight for the force applied by thehydraulic double-acting cylinders 16 mounted on and within the boom 18.

The novel articulated boom 18 is bidirectional, telescoping, and uses aplurality of double-acting hydraulic cylinders 16 mounted bothinternally and externally. The boom 18 includes a segmented telescopicportion 36, a solid middle portion 38 connected to said telescopicportion 36, and a solid free hinged end portion 24 interconnectedbetween said middle portion 38 and the vibratory hammer 14. Each portionof the boom 18 includes a joint 40 controlled by one or more hydrauliccylinders 16 for controlling the movement of the boom, each hydrauliccylinder 16 having both a cylinder housing 42 and a piston rod 44. Thesehydraulic cylinders 16, which are powered by the hydraulic pumps 34,control the movement of each segment of the articulated boom 18, and arecontrolled by an operator both manually and automatically duringelongation and contraction of the boom in such a way as to maintain thepiling 12 always plumb in three-dimensional planes. The operator of theapparatus is further aided in maintaining the plumbness of the drivensheet pile 12 by a human assistant on the ground who can manually rotatesaid sheet pile 12 on a horizontal axis of rotation and tilt said sheetpile until said pile is oriented at the desired angle to be driven intothe ground. By operation of portions 24, 36, and 38 of the boom 18 aswell as the associated hydraulic cylinders 16 and an internal hydrauliccylinder 16 a mounted inside the telescopic portion 36 of the boom, saidboom can be operated at an angle from the base carrier 20 ranging from 0to 96 degrees as illustrated in FIGS. 1E and 1F.

The telescopic portion 36 of the boom 18 includes an extendabletelescopic segment 46 and a hollow receptacle segment 48 for receivingsaid telescopic segment when the boom is not in use. Said telescopicportion 36 and its telescopic segment 46 provide a majority of thelinear reach of the articulated boom 18. The telescoping action of saidtelescopic portion 36 of the boom 18 is accomplished under a load by theuse of hydraulics, which will be known to one skilled in the art. Aplurality of hydraulic double-acting cylinders 16 b are connected to thebase carrier at their cylinder housing ends 42 and to the receptaclesegment 48 of the boom's telescopic portion 36 at their piston rod ends44 to raise said boom 18 from a horizontal to a vertical orientation.The telescoping action of the internally-mounted, hydraulic,double-acting cylinder 16 a that operates to extend the telescopicsegment 46 of the boom 18, along with the additional reach provided bythe middle portion 38 and the free hinged end 24, allows the machine 10to accommodate sheet piles 12 up to 65 feet in length.

The middle portion 38 of the boom 18 is raised and lowered by control ofa hydraulic double-acting cylinder 16 c connected to the telescopicsegment 46 of the telescopic portion 36 of the boom 18 at the cylinderhousing end 42 and to the middle portion 38 of the boom at the pistonrod end 44. The middle portion 38 of the boom 18 serves to aid inpositioning the free hinged end 24 of said boom and the vibratory hammer14 to extend the reach of said vibratory hammer when the boom isoriented vertically.

The free hinged end portion 24 of said boom 18 includes a pin-receivingaperture 24 a for receiving a pin 50 to engage the connector 22. The pin50 is inserted through the aperture 24 a to engage said free hinged end24 with the connector 22 of the vibratory hammer 14. To position thefree hinged end portion 24 of the boom 18, the cylinder housing 42 of ahydraulic double-acting cylinder 16 d is connected to the middle portion38 of said boom and the piston rod end 44 of said hydraulicdouble-acting cylinder 16 d is connected to said free hinged end 24 ofthe boom. The hydraulic double-acting cylinder 16 d on the free hingedend 24 of said boom 18 serves to create continuous downward force on thepiling 12. The sheet pile driving apparatus 10 includes a means forensuring that the downward force is applied generally vertically.

The resonance-free vibratory hammer 14 vibrates the sheet piling 12simultaneously with the creation of continuous downward or upward forcesunder load by the hydraulic double-acting cylinder 16 d attached to theboom 18 and the internal hydraulic cylinder 16 a operating thetelescopic segment 46 of the telescopic portion 36 of said boom. Saidvibratory hammer 14 vibrates the driven member 12 in a verticaldirection with a high frequency at a rapid rate that is imperceptible tothe human eye.

The vibratory hammer 14 includes a connector 22 that comprises a specialuniversal joint 52 to allow movement of the vibratory hammer in avertical plane, and a swivel 54 to allow rotational movement of thevibratory hammer in a horizontal plane. Thus, the connector 22 allowssheet piles 12 to be driven into the earth in any direction. The specialuniversal joint 52 of the connector 22, illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3,comprises an upper portion 52 a having a pin-receiving aperture 52 b anda lower portion 52 c, which also has a pin-receiving aperture 52 d thatis oriented perpendicularly to the channel of the aperture 52 b.Aperture 52 b of the special universal joint 52 is aligned with aperture24 a of the free hinged end 24 of the boom 18 to receive the connectingpin 50 that interconnects said boom with the connector 22 of thevibratory hammer 14. The swivel 54 of said connector 22 includes apin-receiving aperture 54 a through which a rotator pin 56 is insertedto engage said swivel 54 with the lower portion 52 c of the specialuniversal joint 52 of the connector 22. Aperture 52 d of the specialuniversal joint 52 is aligned with aperture 54 a of the swivel 54, androtator pin 56 is inserted through both apertures 52 d, 54 a tointerconnect said swivel with said universal joint. In this manner, thevibratory hammer 14 is connected rigidly to the boom 18 by the connector22 shown in FIG. 4. This rigid connection with the boom 18 preventsresonance created by the vibratory hammer 14 which would damage theboom. The swivel 54 of the connector 22 allows the vibratory hammer 14to be articulated and rotated 360 degrees. The combination of theuniversal joint 52 and the swivel 54 of the connector 22 allows theoperator's assistant on the ground to rotate the sheet pile 12 beingdriven on a vertical axis of rotation and to angle the driven sheetpiling in any direction. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the lower portion 58of the vibratory hammer 14 includes a gripping device 60 havingvise-like jaws to hold firmly the sheet pile 12 to be driven into theground.

The vibratory hammer 14 requires special modification for use in thepresent invention to withstand the extreme downward and upward forcescreated by the hydraulic cylinders 16 b, 16 c, and 16 d and the internalhydraulic cylinder 16 a operating the telescopic segment 46 of the boom18. This vibratory hammer 14, which will be known to one skilled in theart, is available commercially. As used in the present invention, saidvibratory hammer 14 operates three to four times faster thanconventional crane suspended vibratory hammers. A separate power pack 62incorporated inside the counterweight portion 26 of the base carrier 20supplies a source of power for the vibratory hammer 14 independent ofthe power pack 32 used to supply power to the base carrier 20.Alternatively, the power pack 32 used to supply power to the basecarrier 20 may also be adapted to supply power to the vibratory hammer14.

The machine 10 is used in a method of driving a sheet piling 12 thatallows automatic continuous force for preloading or extraction of thesheet piles, and which is two to three times faster than traditionalvibratory pile driving. The elongated bi-directional, hydraulictelescoping boom 18 creates a controlled downward or upward verticalforce through the action of the internal hydraulic cylinder 16 a, whichis mounted inside the receptacle segment 48 to operate the telescopicsegment 46 of said boom, and/or by the hydraulic double-acting cylinders16 b, 16 c, and 16 d, which in their downward thrust drive the sheetpile into the ground. The downward or upward force exerted by themachine 10 through the boom 18 and its three portions 24, 36, and 38 isvariable from 1 to 30 tons. The connector 22 at the free hinged end 24of said boom 18 connects the boom to the sheet pile 12 through aresonance-free vibratory hammer 14, which engages the sheet pile to beinstalled or removed through a gripping device 60. The hydraulic piston16 d interconnected with the free end 24 of the boom 18 applies acontinuous downward (in the case of sheet pile installation) or upward(in the case of sheet pile removal) force from the boom onto the sheetpiling 12. As the hydraulic piston 16 d exerts the downward or upwardforce on said sheet pile 12, the vibratory hammer 14 simultaneouslyvibrates said sheet piling in a vertical motion to drive the sheetpiling into soil under the sheet piling, or in the case of sheet pileremoval, forcefully extracts said sheet piling from the ground.

The vibratory hammer 14 can be connected to steel piling and casingpiling in addition to sheet piling 12.

The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what isconsidered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It isrecognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within thescope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to aperson skilled in the art.

1. A method of driving a sheet piling that allows continuous force forpreloading or extraction of the piling during installation, the methodcomprising the steps of: providing a sheet piling; providing atelescoping boom that creates a controlled downward or upward verticalforce, the boom comprising: a telescopic portion, including a hydraulicdouble-acting cylinder coupled to the base for raising the boom from ahorizontal to a vertical orientation and an internal hydraulic cylinderfor extending and retracting a telescopic segment from a receptaclesegment, a middle portion, including a first hydraulic double-actingcylinder coupled to the telescopic portion, the first cylinderextendable so as to raise the middle portion, and a second hydraulicdouble acting cylinder to provide control over the positioning of thevibratory hammer, and a free hinged end; providing a weighted basecarrier that supports the boom for counterbalancing a downward orupward, hydraulically-harnessed force from the base carrier through theboom to the sheet piling; providing an articulated connector at the freeend for connecting the boom to the sheet piling through a modifiedresonance-free vibratory hammer; coupling the resonance-free vibratoryhammer to the sheet piling to be installed or removed; applying acontinuous downward or upward force from the boom on the sheet piling;and simultaneously vibrating the sheet piling to drive the sheet pilinginto soil under the sheet piling, or forcefully extracting the sheetpiling from the ground.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the boom isarticulated and the articulation is controlled during elongation andcontraction of the boom by an operator and an assistant on the groundwho positions the piling in such a way as to maintain the piling alwaysplumb in three-dimensional planes.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theconnector to the vibratory hammer comprises a swivel to providerotational movement in a horizontal plane and a special universal jointthat connects to the free hinged end of the boom to provide movement ina vertical plane to the vibratory hammer.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the vibratory hammer can be connected to steel piling and casingpiling in addition to sheet piling.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein apower pack is located on the base carrier to supply power to the basecarrier and an independent power pack is located on the base carrier tosupply power to the vibratory hammer.
 6. A machine comprising: atelescoping boom for creating a controlled downward or upward verticalforce, the boom comprising: a telescopic portion, including a hydraulicdouble-acting cylinder for raising the boom from a horizontal to avertical orientation and an internal hydraulic cylinder for extendingand retracting a telescopic segment from a receptacle segment, a middleportion, including a hydraulic double-acting cylinder hydraulicallycoupled to the telescopic portion, the cylinder extendable so as toraise the middle portion, and a free hinged end, including a hydraulicdouble-acting cylinder; a weighted base carrier coupled to the boom; andan articulated connector at the free hinged end for coupling a vibratoryhammer.